World peace, the old-fashioned way
by HufflepuffKat
Summary: Lelouch decides that he doesn't trust Suzaku and the Black Knights enough to leave the world in their hands, so he crosses out the Zero Requiem and decides to make world peace the hard and old-fashioned way. Birthday gift to Professor Corcoran
1. Chapter 1

**[Set after the Ragnarok connection and the deaths of Charles zi Britannia and Marianne vi Britannia]**

Lelouch, Suzaku and C2 left the thought elevator deep in thought. They had still yet to decide what they would do next and tension was high. Lelouch glanced at C2 and Suzaku.

C2 was looking down with a bored expression, and Lelouch considered if he could trust her or not after what had just happened. Could he trust her to be on his side if he needed her? The answer was yes, he could, after all, he still hadn't finished his contract.

Suzaku was looking both overwhelmed and angry. It was obvious he was still not going to let go their past actions to move forward. The probability that he would turn on them was increasing by the second.

Lelouch looked back down to continue his previous train of thought. He was going through his possible options from this point. Now that the Emperor was dead, he no longer had a reason to live and he no longer had to worry about Nunnally (as tragic as that was), his options had increased from hundreds into the thousands, and mentally he was going through them all, each possible scenario.

He had a particular one that he kept going back to; one where he took control over Britannia, divert all the worlds hatred to him, take over the world, and have then himself killed. It could work, however, it had two major issues; he would need to rely on the Black Knights not only to keep his past identity as a secret, but rely on them to put aside their differences with old enemies for the sake of peace, and after recent events, he couldn't do it. The other issue was Suzaku, even if he could convince Suzaku to go along with his plan, he couldn't trust Suzaku, period.

He would need to find another plan.

And then he found one. He still had one issue though. Lelouch glanced at Suzaku who was still moping. He needed to ditch Suzaku.

Lelouch slyly put his hand in his pocket to reach his phone and started to press the buttons, hand still in his pocket. He couldn't let Suzaku know what he was up to, or there was the chance that he wouldn't leave Kanime Island alive or worse. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and checked his watch, he needed to stall for fifteen minutes.

Suzaku scoffed, "Do you have plans to be somewhere else, I'm sorry but you're not leaving until you pay for your crimes."

Lelouch frowned, he was hoping the silence would last longer than this, he had to keep Suzaku talking, "There is no use dwelling on the past Suzaku."

"The past…" Suzaku's face went livid, "You killed Euphie, your own sister, and you think you can just walk away from that?"

Lelouch made sure to keep a calm tone when he replied, "And you killed my sister Nunnally and thousands of civilians, I'd say we have equal blood on our hands."

Suzaku snarled and raised his hand to point at Lelouch, "I didn't want to, I was ready to atone. But _your_ Geass on me made me launch that Fleija!"

"And did if force you to go into the battlefield carrying it, well aware of that geass?" Lelouch asked coldly, pausing for a moment for Suzaku to respond, who was caught off guard, "Anything to pass off the blame to someone else. How often do you use me as a scapegoat to remove yourself from all responsibility?"

Suzaku was taken aback, before narrowing his eyes, "Just like you used Nunnally?"

Lelouch frowned, he could see this conversation was going down quickly, he checked his watch again, this time more covertly, he gritted his teeth when he saw that he needed to stall another ten minutes.

"But it is true, everything I have done has genuinely been for Nunnally's sake."

"She wouldn't have wanted all of this," Suzaku shook his head, "all this violence, death pain, don't you dare-"

"It's a necessary means to create the gentle world she always wanted!" Lelouch interrupted, checking his watch again, eight minutes.

Suzaku looked down, "A gentle world?" He looked up and glared at Lelouch, and Lelouch knew that he had run out of time, "You could have achieved your gentle world by supporting Euphie!"

Suzaku unachieved his sword and charged at Lelouch, C2 stepped in front of Lelouch and in Suzaku's way, but that wasn't what stopped him. An orange and green Knightmare frame crashed into the temple from their right side, shifting the ground itself and causing them all to lose balance and fall to the ground.

The Knightmare's pilot jumped out, revealing himself to be Jeremiah. Jeremiah narrowed his eyes at Suzaku's sword and immediately charged at him. Suzaku quickly got back up to his feet and swiped his sword at Jeremiah, eyes widening when it landed with a solid _clunk_. Jeremiah, unaffected, grabbed Suzaku by the back of his neck and slammed him down to the ground, pinning him.

"Your Highness, are you alright?!" Jeremiah kneeled to Lelouch. Suzaku desperately made an attempt to escape Jeremiah's grip but was unable to loosen the grip of his cybernetic arm.

Lelouch smiled, "I am thanks to you. Your timing is flawless, I hadn't expected you to arrive for another seven minutes, good job Jeremiah."

Jeremiah grinned with pride. Suzaku continued his struggle in bewilderment, "What the hell _are_ you, Orange?"

Jeremiah looked down at Suzaku, ignoring his question, "Do you wish for me to dispose of Sir Kururugi, my lord?"

Lelouch considered it for a moment, with his geass canceler, Jeremiah would be able to do it quite easily, and it would make things easier if Suzaku was out of the picture, but still, sentimental value got in the way.

"That won't be necessary Jeremiah, I don't want him dead yet. However, could you use your geass canceler on him? I used my geass on him in the past to command him to live and it has become a nuisance."

"Yes, your highness!" Jeremiah activated his geass canceler and Suzaku shuddered, but that wasn't what he had put his attention to.

"So, you are doing this of your own free will Jeremiah? But why?" Jeremiah looked down at Suzaku with disgust.

"It's because of something you wouldn't understand, Suzaku. It's called loyalty." Jeremiah's answer confused Suzaku as it insulted him.

"But why are you loyal to Lelouch?" Suzaku demanded.

Jeremiah looked up at Lelouch, who shook his head, so Jeremiah ignored Suzaku's question. Lelouch decided that Suzaku didn't need to know, as the more Suzaku knew, the more trouble he could cause them later.

"Jeremiah, could you knock Suzaku out?"

"Yes, my lord!" Jeremiah, shifted his grip from Suzaku's neck to his head before promptly lifting it and slamming it to the ground, effectively knocking Suzaku out cold.

"Jeremiah, you may rise now," Lelouch's face became softer, losing its prior cold callous. "I have much to discuss with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Kallen fiddled with the cutlery on her table. She was feeling anxious. She had come to this café in _Japan_ (not Area 11 anymore) after receiving an anonymous message and wasn't sure what to expect. She hadn't told any of the others that she was here either, so if this was a trap she could only rely on herself to get herself out of here.

Why hadn't she told the others? Because she suspected that the message was from Lelouch, and she needed answers from him. What he had said in the cargo bay had hurt like hell, but what he had said after _"Kallen, you have to live."_ , made her uncertain that what he had said was true. Lelouch was a liar after all.

She needed to know what she meant to Lelouch _really_.

A large man in a hoodie entered the café and sat at the table next to her and ordered a coffee. She caught a glance at the man's face and swallowed as she confirmed her suspicions. There was no doubt that it was the one and only Jeremiah Gottwald, which could only mean one thing; Lelouch.

She thought that she would be relieved, but her anxiousness only increased tenfold. This was actually happening, she was finally going to get her answers.

Another man entered the café and although his cap hid his face, Kallen could tell that it was Lelouch from his slender body. Lelouch sat at her table, looking up at her, gratefulness in his eyes.

"I'm glad you came, Kallen." Kallen's heart skipped a beat, could he really care, or was he just planning to use her. She had to keep herself thinking rationally and not let her emotions get the better of her, looking at Lelouch, she could already tell that he knew that she had come alone.

"I want answers." She explained herself looking Lelouch directly in the eyes. "More specifically, I want you to answer my question again now that we don't have guns aimed at us. What do I mean to you?"

Lelouch was visibly surprised. Kallen knew it wasn't because she asked this particular question, he was too smart not to expect that it must be because he wasn't expecting her to ask it so early in the meeting, but why? Kallen felt a small pang in her chest as she realised that Lelouch probably thought that she didn't doubt what he had said, that she had that little faith in him.

Lelouch avoided her gaze, a bit sheepish. "You might be one of the few people I have left, my last reason to live."

Kallen's heart was beating at an alarming rate, and she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, although she could tell that this time Lelouch wasn't lying. Still, she needed to know more.

"Do you love me?" Kallen watched Lelouch carefully as he slightly narrowed his eyes in thought. The was a long pause before he answered.

"To be honest, with everything that has been going on, I haven't thought about that. For the last two years, everything has been the Black Knights, protecting Nunnally, keeping my identity a secret, the geass order, keeping Rolo under control, trying to figure out what Schneizel has been planning." Kallen was disheartened to hear this, but it was proof enough to her this wasn't some big ploy to manipulate her, he could have so easily said yes and won her over completely.

"But," Lelouch caught her attention again, "After only one long horrible day, the majority of those got wiped out, and I would be willing to try to find out."

At the back of Kallen's mind, she just accepted, that ploy or not, he had just won her over anyway.

"However, that is not why I asked for you to meet me." Lelouch went back to business.

"What do you need?" Kallen asked instantly, ready to help. Lelouch smiled and shook his head in amusement.

"I have a plan, but first, I need to get you caught up. I killed my father." Lelouch stated, and allowed her some time to process this.

So, the emperor was dead. This changed everything, without him, the Britannian empire would be overcome by chaos at best. Kallen could tell that wasn't all though, so she nodded at Lelouch to continue.

"With Jeremiah's help, I have also captured Suzaku." Kallen unconsciously glanced back at Jeremiah, who was scanning the other tables on the lookout for threats.

"So, he's not with you?" She said to show her surprise.

Lelouch nodded, "No, after all he has done, I simply cannot trust him. I also had Jeremiah remove the geass I put on Suzaku."

Kallen nodded again, well aware of what he was talking about, said geass had been a pain in their backsides for a long time now.

"Is that all?" She asked.

Lelouch pondered for a moment, before he answered her, "Rolo is dead."

Kallen hadn't really met Rolo, but had heard bits and pieces about him, so she just nodded.

"Are you still willing to help me?" Lelouch asked again, and Kallen nodded.

"Of course."

"Well then, let's move onto to the plan. Quite simply, I am going to take control of Britannia."


	3. Chapter 3

The royal court waited anxiously in the throne room, they had all been supposedly summoned by the emperor, who had been missing for almost a month now. He was supposedly going to make an announcement, and a few elite members of the press were also there to broadcast it live to the whole world.

They all ushered to each other, speaking of the rumours that the emperor had gone mad, or had fallen ill. There were the ever increasing of an attempted coup staged by Schneizel. Nobody knew what to expect when then emperor made his appearance.

They all heard the clacking of footsteps as the announcer announced, "Presenting his imperial majesty!"

Instantly everyone's conversations came to a halt as they all stood to attention. However, the murmurs quickly returned when they saw an unfamiliar looking boy approach and sit on the throne.

"Greetings, I am Lelouch vi Britannia, and I have invited you all to announce my claim to the throne."

There were gasps amongst the crowd and even a few protests by some of his older siblings, but it was Odysseus that stepped forward and gained Lelouch's attention.

"Lelouch, it is so good to see you. When Nunnally was located, I figured you would be found alive too, but now, don't you think that you are carrying this joke a bit too far, that is the throne of our father," Odysseus tried to smooth things over.

"Charles zi Britannia is dead, I have killed him for his crimes." There were again gasps of shock amongst the crowd, "And therefore, by his own philosophy, that makes me the next emperor."

Guinevere, his oldest sister, was the first to show her outrage, "Guards! Take that fool and execute him, he is guilty of murdering our emperor!" The guards from the back of the room followed her orders and marched over to the throne.

A booming voice echoed through the room, striking fear into the court, "YOU DARE BEAR ARMS AGAINST HIS MAJESTY!" Jeremiah appeared seemingly out of nowhere to defend Lelouch, landing on the ground heavily with his blades extended, making the guards hesitate and halt in their path.

Lelouch raised his hand and gestured to Jeremiah, "I introduce to you Jeremiah Gottwald, my personal knight and the new knight of one." The court began to exchange glances, realising what was going on. The Gottwald family was a prestige line of nobility, and with Jeremiah, Lelouch had their backing. The guards lay down their weapons to show their surrender.

"And while we are making introductions, I would like to formally introduce Kallen Kozuki, my imperial consort." Lelouch gestured off to the side, where Kallen hesitantly showed herself in formal Britannian dress, angry blush on her face. While she was happy that Lelouch was going to give the two of them a shot, to be introduced like this was embarrassing and not her style. She would have preferred to have been given a position as a knight of the rounds, but she understood Lelouch's purpose in not doing so. Lelouch was about to make big changes soon and was likely to face assassination attempts, it was better if people were not aware that she was his secret bodyguard.

Realisation of what was going on had started to settle into the crowd and they began to quiet down, to which Lelouch took advantage of.

"Hear me! Charles zi Britannia was unsuited to the throne! He had become detached and cruel, which became evident when he abandoned my blind and crippled sister and myself, his own children, to fend for ourselves in a war zone without making any attempts to rescue us. It became even more so when he called the war against the Black Knights a trivial matter and left it to his children to deal with."

Members of the imperial family began to look down, the couldn't deny what Lelouch said was true.

"I will lead Britannia back to the path of righteousness! All you need to do is let me, all you need to do is **accept my claim to the throne!** " Lelouch used his Geass carefully on the crowd. He wanted them to make him emperor, but he didn't want to enslave them.

Doubtful gazes became confident, and the royal family started to nod to each other, "All hail Lelouch!" Someone chanted, and soon everyone began to join in.

"All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch!"

Lelouch grinned at the crowd. Now he could begin.

* * *

Lelouch gave some time for the media to calm down from his sudden takeover before he made his first royal decree. It was important that he gets it right, after all, an emperor's first royal decree was his first official act as an emperor and indicated how they planned to rule in the future.

He couldn't wait too long, however, as he needed to be ready for when Schneizel made his move, so no less than two days after his first appearance he organised for another meeting with the royal court and invited the press to come too.

He had given the option to Kallen to join him if she wished, but she had declined. He predicted that would be her response though, making official public appearances required her to wear formal dress, which she despised almost as much as the nobles that she would have to mingle with while wearing it.

He was quite used to making important public appearances as Zero, however, things were different now that he was appealing to Britannians. While it was true that he wanted to dismantle a large chunk of Britannian culture, it was necessary for him to do it small pieces at a time to avoid a public uproar, which he would start today. Until the day his mission was complete, however, he had to look the part and wear Britannian dress.

None to say he too pleased about that. He had chosen to wear a more military attire at least, to avoid the atrocious, overly fancy, more-costumes-than-outfits that nobility too often wore. He wasn't wearing his usual colours though, it was neither black nor purple, but rather white. He might have complained if it wasn't his idea, colours had meaning and white was almost universally accepted as 'good', so if he wanted to give the impression that he was leading Britannia on the right path, white it was.

"Are you ready, my lord?" Jeremiah asked standing at the door to his quarters, ready to escort him to the throne room, Lelouch glanced at the clock on the wall and realised that he was five minutes of schedule, meaning Jeremiah must have been waiting there for ten minutes while he was too deep in thought to notice.

"Yes, Jeremiah. My apologies for keeping you waiting." Jeremiah didn't say anything in response, but Lelouch knew that Jeremiah would have been content waiting ten hours for him, it was the world, however, that he couldn't keep waiting.

Lelouch was glad to say that he had been prepared for possible delays when he had created his schedule, to begin with, so he made it to the throne room in time to make his announcement.

The announcer called for the court's attention, "Presenting his imperial majesty!"

He entered the throne room, the court all watching him, waiting him to speak and anxious to see what he was going to do, "Greetings Britannia! It was my father, Charles zi Britannia who said that all men are not created equal, this, sadly is true, but it doesn't mean that it is right. We as a holy nation should not be treating people differently based on how they were born, so my first royal decree is that all Britannian citizens from this day forward be treated equally under the law." There were whispers of shock amongst the crowd, "A duke shall not be treated less harshly than a commoner who has committed the same crime, nor shall a countess be given a lesser punishment for murdering a commoner rather than a duchess."

Lelouch paused to allow the crowd to process what he had just said. He had decided that this would be the best way to start, this way, he would be known as the people's king, he would gain popularity there, and while had the masses backing him, nobility wouldn't be too much of an issue.

"And for my next decree," Lelouch spoke again, gaining everyone's attention, "I abolish the number system." If there wasn't uproar before amongst the nobles there was now that not only were they going to be treated equally as commoners, but by mere numbers too. Lelouch didn't care.

"All citizens of the former nations conquered by Britannia in the past and in the future will be treated as full Britannian citizens, free to call themselves by the nationality they were born as, as well as Britannian. They will be given equal rights and responsibilities as everyone else. That is all." Lelouch left the throne room ignoring the protests made by the more arrogant members of the court.


	4. Chapter 4

Kallen had come to an understanding that Lelouch was simply not romantically minded. He devoted himself to those he cared about completely, but as he sat with her in the royal gardens, speaking with her intently, he hadn't made any attempts to flirt with her. Oh no, that was left completely to her. Not that she minded, she had discovered that she could fluster Lelouch easily when he knew that she was being honest, and he could always tell she was being honest. It was actually a lot of fun to see the man of masks lose his composure so easily.

"You know Lelouch, I never thought that you would look so handsome in a Britannian uniform." She made another comment, smirking when she saw Lelouch blush a bit.

"Well, I… ah," He tried to respond, causing her to burst into laughter.

She felt a pair of eyes on her back as she laughed for a moment before the feeling went away. She looked behind her at Jeremiah. Jeremiah had come to guard them at his own insistence, and with his level enthusiasm, it was difficult to deny him. He was sitting off to the side, just out of hearing range, for a regular person that was, something told Kallen that the cyborg could listen in on them if he wanted to.

Jeremiah scanned the area again before looking back to the newspaper he was reading, frowning as he read, and Kallen could take a guess why. As could be expected, since Lelouch had made his decrees the nobles had started to make public protests. As happy, no grateful, as she was that Lelouch had made them, it made her incredibly angry that after Lelouch had given them a chance to be decent people, the Nobles could only complain about not getting special treatment.

"Kallen," Lelouch said to get her attention, and from the look on his face, he was uncomfortable with what he was about to say, "Your father has requested an audience with us."

Kallen frowned. Her father hadn't made any attempt to contact her in years, but of course, _now_ he would try to reconnect with her. "To hell with him, I don't want to see him again after what he did to my mother.

Lelouch nodded, "It's probably for the best anyway, he has backed Schneizel for a long time now, and if we gave him the chance to snoop around…" There he was, calculating again. While most girls would have found it annoying for their boyfriend to constantly drop out of conversations to go deep into thought, Kallen had to admit that she liked it, at least a little. It was part of his charm as the magnificent Zero; charismatic, unpredictable, and intelligent beyond belief.

Jeremiah stood up suddenly, drawing Lelouch and Kallen's gaze.

"You there! Come out from the bushes!" An intruder? It had to be, Lelouch had ordered that even other members of the royal family were not to come here to give the two of them some privacy. Kallen stood up, ready for a fight.

"You there! Come out from the bushes!" Lelouch was forced out of his thoughts by Jeremiah's booming voice. An assassination attempt already? It was true that he had expected that the nobles would want him dead, but for them to act so quickly?

Lelouch followed Jeremiah's gaze to a shaking bush only five meters away from him and narrowed his eyes. How had they gotten so close without them noticing?

A small girl fell out and Lelouch blinked, "I-I-I'm sorry your majesty. I-I-I didn't mean- I-I-I, please don't execute me!" The girl looked up and flinched under Lelouch's gaze and looked away to avoid his glance, she seemed to have accidentally locked eyes with Jeremiah, because she jumped back and lowered his head, looking straight down.

Looking over the girl's face, Lelouch's face softened when he recognised her. His youngest sibling, Princess Elouise deci Britannia, who he recalled to only be eleven years old. Lelouch gave a wave to Gottwald to signify that he stand down, as Elouise obviously wasn't a threat. He also recalled that Elouise was the only daughter of Charles' twenty-second consort, who he married for her family's technology company.

He stepped closer to Elouise and knelt down to her level, "Calm down." He said in a gentle voice, not wanting to frighten her further. "I requested that this area be off-limits to give us some privacy, did the guards not tell you."

Elouise refused to look up, instead just shaking her head, "I-I-I came out through the window."

"Why?" Lelouch asked, a little intrigued. He remembered the trouble that he would get into when he was her age at the palace. The princess started shaking.

"I'm sorry! I really wouldn't have if it wasn't for my, for my," She looked up and started to look around, crazed, before she suddenly pointed to a tree closer to the place, narrowing his eyes, Lelouch could see that there was something metal _in_ the tree. "My Flydroid!" Elouise explained, excitement shining in her eyes as she pointed.

"Jeremiah, could you fetch it, please?" Lelouch asked, standing up.

"Yes, your majesty!" Jeremiah darted off quickly to get it. Lelouch snuck a quick glance to Kallen, who almost looked endeared by the situation, which just made Lelouch confused.

Lelouch turned back to Elouise and offered her his hand, which she hesitantly took.

Jeremiah returned and handed the machine to Lelouch, which he passed to Elouise. Elouise accepted it gratefully and hugged it to her chest.

"Now, how did it get there?" Lelouch asked.

Elouise blushed, Lelouch noticed that she had calmed down a bit, she must have realised that she wasn't in trouble.

She took a deep breath, "I wanted to test my Flydroid today, but Uncle Winston told me I wasn't allowed to fly it inside. The guards told me I wasn't allowed to go outside either, but I have lessons tomorrow and the day after, so if I don't test it today than I'd have to wait _three days_ before I have a chance. So, I decided I'd just open my bedroom window and fly it from there, but then a mean bird crashed into it and crash landed into the tree."

Lelouch chuckled, "So did your Uncle Winston make your Flydroid for you?" He vaguely remembered that Winston Stuart was the head of his family and CEO of their business.

Elouise shook her head, "Ah-uh, I made it, using a bunch of the spare parts he gave me!" She said proudly. Lelouch blinked in surprise before looking back at the 'Flydroid' that Elouise was hugging to her chest, it looked pretty professional, but he could tell looking closely that it was made of mitch-matched parts by the different metals used.

"Could you show me how it works?" Lelouch asked, and Elouise nodded excitedly, he had to admit that this was feeling nostalgic back to better days when he and Nunnally would play with their new toys.

Elouise put the Flydroid on the ground, it looked mostly like a metal box, with four fins on the upper corners. Elouise pulled a remote out from one of her dress pockets, and a digital display lit up.

She pointed the remote at the Flydroid and the fins lit up green and it began to hover a meter from the ground. "You see this green dot here?" She pointed at the screen on her remote, "That's the Flydroid, you just tap on the screen where you want it to go." She tapped the screen and the Flydroid flew in a straight line to where tapped. She tapped the screen again and the Flydroid flew back.

"When I get the parts to make another Flydroid, I'm going to teach it how to follow it, that way it can play chasings with its friend!" She said cheerfully, which gave Lelouch an idea. That could be useful.

"Elouise, if I got you the parts, do you think you could make a bigger Flydroid?" Elouise blinked at him in confusion before bringing her had to her chin in thought.

"I think so, why?" Lelouch didn't answer but instead asked her another question.

"And do you think you could build it to carry a metal spear too?" Elouise's eyes widened in excitement.

"So they can fight each other like in RoboRumble on T.V.?" Lelouch smiled.

"Yeah, that's right. Do you think you could do it?"

Elouise nodded excitedly, "I'll go to my room and write you a list of parts immediately!" And she ran off back towards the palace.

"I know that look, what are you thinking?" Kallen asked, voice filled with amusement.

Lelouch looked back at her, "I think I just found some anti-Fleija counter measures." Kallen's eyes widened in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

Jeremiah followed his liege as they made their weekly visit under the palace to the cells to check on Sir Kururugi. Jeremiah's opinion of Sir Kururugi had changed so much sense he had first met the man; first he had only seen him as a lowly eleven to use to reach his own ambitions then Kururugi had saved him from his fellow Purists and gained his respect and Jeremiah owed him a debt because of that, and when Princess Euphemia had died Jeremiah had sympathised with him, he understood what it was like to fail someone he loved and respected that way. Jeremiah had grown to feel a sense of kinship towards Kururugi, one that he was willing to put aside for his liege, but kinship none the less. Then Sir Kururugi had raised a sword against his prince and all kinship, respect and sympathy towards Kururugi had been stripped away.

So, in summary, not only did Jeremiah _hate_ Suzaku with a burning passion, he felt disappointed in him too, and these weekly visits were Jeremiah's least favourite thing on his schedule. Not that he complained, no, such a thing would be blasphemous. For his majesty, Jeremiah would suffer anything! Besides, there was no way in hell that Jeremiah would ever let Suzaku be alone with Lelouch.

His emperor was too forgiving. His majesty's willingness to forgive Jeremiah himself after all the trouble he had caused his liege in the past was enough to attest that, but from Lelouch's stories, Jeremiah felt that Suzaku had crossed a line, multiple times he might add, and had refused to repent or show any signs of allegiance. Suzaku didn't _deserve_ Lelouch's forgiveness.

Lelouch had never said out loud that he had forgiven Suzaku, but Jeremiah wasn't blind, and Lelouch's continued hesitance to inflict punishment on Suzaku beyond imprisonment _despite_ Suzaku doing everything in his power to be a nuisance was proof enough for Jeremiah.

Jeremiah inwardly swore an oath that he wouldn't allow the ones unworthy of Lelouch's forgiveness that had been forgiven to harm him again. Unfortunately, Kallen was also on that list, admittedly less so than Suzaku. Lelouch had explained that he had purposely manipulated Kallen to betray him, but despite that, it had been Kallen's duty to protect Zero and her betrayal just couldn't sit well with Jeremiah.

Jeremiah could see that Kallen made Lelouch happy though, and perhaps he was willing to forgive her too, in time, but until then he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone with Lelouch (he was grateful that for the time being that she slept in a separate room than Lelouch).

Jeremiah pondered if it would be appropriate to request that he use his geass canceller on Kallen, he would feel more comfortable if his majesty could at least use his geass as a last-minute defence if she did turn on him. He sighed and decided against it, he didn't want Lelouch to get the wrong impression and think that he was questioning him.

Jeremiah went back on the alert when Kururugi cell became visible. Jeremiah himself had made sure that the cell was perfectly secure, Kururugi had been given a simple futon to sleep on, and the table and chair in the room were both solid cement blocks. Kururugi's cell didn't have a bathroom, but rather he was transported to a separate bathroom and three-hour intervals.

Kururugi was sitting on his cement block chair, watching the news displayed on the television just outside of cell with an angered expression. Jeremiah ground his teeth.

"I thought you would like what I have done with Britannia," Lelouch said with amusement in his voice. Kururugi redirected his glare to Lelouch.

"Of course, I wouldn't!" Kururugi snapped, "As I have said all along, any ends gained through contemptible means aren't worth anything."

Lelouch smirked, "Are they really all that contemptible? Other princes have risen to the throne in much more bloody ways, and it's not like I have removed the royal court of their free will, I've just ensured that they won't usurp my reign."

"A reign you started by usurping in the first place." Kururugi countered.

Lelouch laughed, "Don't pretend that you didn't try to usurp the throne for Schneizel."

Kururugi's eyes widened, "How did you-?" Kururugi's question was cut off by an alarm sounding, the television's screen changed to display incoming Knightmares.

"The Knights of the round? Well, I was expecting them to show up sometime around now." Lelouch pondered, "Jeremiah, you intercept them, I'll alert Kallen."

"Yes, my lord!" Jeremiah bowed, pride swelling up in his chest at the chance to prove himself, he turned and swiftly headed towards the Knightmare barracks.

Normally, such a trek would have taken fifteen minutes, far too long to respond in time, however, as a cyborg, his increased speed meant that he was in his Knightmare in less than three minutes.

He entered the Siegfried and connected his systems through the bioconnect, launching the Siegfried to the sky, smirking when Lelouch opened up a communications line.

"Kallen is making her way to her Guren to provide you with assistance, she should be there in five minutes, you will have to face them alone until then."

"That will not be a problem, my lord."

Jeremiah received a rain of bullets from the knight of for, which he deflected easily using the Siegfried's spinning defence systems, and he launched two of his slash harkens at their Knightmare one after the other. The knight of four dodged the first but was hit by the second, forcing her to eject her Knightmare's right arm.

This distraction gave Jeremiah an opening, and he launched all five of his cone-shaped slash harkens at her Knightmare, causing it to explode before its pilot could eject.

Jeremiah called out through the Siegfried's speakers, "ENEMIES OF THE CROWN FILL FACE MY FURY, A TESTAMENT TO MY LOYALTY!"

The knight of twelve became Jeremiah's next target, his aim was to get rid of the other knights before he faced Bismarck so they could be a nuisance in the fight.

He spun his Knightmare frame, and manoeuvred his way past the knight of three and knight of six, and darted behind the knight of twelve, launching his slash harkens at her cockpit.

Explosions behind him drew his attention, Kallen in her Guren had joined the fray and was dealing with the troops at supersonic speeds.

With them out of the way, Jeremiah could now turn his attention to Bismarck.

"Jeremiah Gottwald, I heard that you had claimed the title of Knight of One, but _I_ am the only Knight of One, and I will not lose that title to a traitor like you!" Bismarck taunted, and Jeremiah smirked in amusement, unaffected by his words.

"You misunderstand me, Bismarck," Jeremiah said, spinning his Siegfried to deflect Bismarck's slash harkens, "The title of Knight of One means would mean nothing to me if not for in being proof of my emperor's confidence in me!"

Jeremiah made several attempts to dart away so he could lower his spinning defences and launch an attack, but Bismarck kept intercepting him. Jeremiah frowned, this didn't seem right. His bioconnect to his knightmare gave him the automatic advantage in reactions, but Bismarck always seemed to predict where he was going… Oh!

"So, you have a geass, that's what it is?" Jeremiah called over his speakers.

"That's right, my geass gives me the power to SEE THE FUTURE!" Bismarck intercepted Jeremiah's knightmare, "You should be honoured Gottwald, I have only used this power once before, when I battled Lady Marianne!"

A reference to his former empress once upon a time would have shook Jeremiah, but his emperor had informed him of her treachery - towards her own children no less, and now he remained unaffected.

"Unfortunate for you, Bismarck, but you won't be able to use such tricks on me!" Jeremiah activated his geass canceller, and this time he managed to dart away and launch an attack without being intercepted.

"What?" Jeremiah smirked at Bismarck's confusion, Bismarck had never been informed of the experiments that had been conducted on Jeremiah, so he would have no clue that a geass canceler was actually possible.

Bismarck's confusion was exactly what Jeremiah had needed, it made Bismarck much easier to distract. Jeremiah sent a barrage of slash harkens at Bismarck, allowing his ally to get behind Bismarck.

Pointed slash harkens punctured Bismarck's knightmare from behind, "Weinberg?!" was Bismarck's final words as Jeremiah finished the job, landing a direct hit to Bismarck's cockpit with his slash harkens.

Both Gino and Jeremiah turned to survey the rest of the battlefield, Kallen had already decimated the troops and taken down the knight of nine, however, surprisingly, Anya in the Mordred had landed.

Kallen, Gino, and Jeremiah landed on the ground to greet Lelouch who had made an appearance on the ground. Jeremiah exited the Siegfried and knelt to his emperor, followed by Gino. Kallen also exited her Guren, but didn't bow.

Lelouch smiled at Gino. "It's great to finally have you allied out in the open, Sir Weinberg." Lelouch stepped back, "You may rise." Jeremiah and Gino stood up.

"Though I wasn't aware that you had managed to convince Anya to join us." Lelouch gestured to the Mordred, where Anya remained inside.

"I hadn't?" Gino replied, obviously confused, all three of them turned to the Mordred in confusion, however, their thoughts were interrupted when one of the guards approached them, out of breath and sounding troubled.

"Your majesty! Sir Kururugi has escaped! He requested the guards to transfer him to the bathrooms before knocking them all unconscious. We are searching the palace as we speak, however-!"

Lelouch cut him off, "However he has likely made a beeline out of Pendragon." Lelouch sighed, "You are dismissed."

Jeremiah spoke up, "My lord, I deeply apologise, I had taken the responsibility of designing his security so it is my fault that-" Jeremiah stopped when Lelouch shook his head.

"Don't worry Jeremiah, I admit that it was only a matter of time before Suzaku found a way to escape. This complicates things, but he shouldn't be able to interfere to much without his 'live geass' anymore."

Lelouch gestured to the palace, "I suggest we all go inside, I have already announced my intention of joining Britannia to the UFN, so we have an important phone call to make."


	6. Chapter 6

Gino, grinning widely, followed Lelouch inside, he could feel Jeremiah's on him, but easily ignored it. He spared a final look towards Anya, who was being apprehended by some of the palace guards.

"So, how'd he convinces you to switch sides?" Gino turned to see Kallen walking next to him. She was looking at him with curiosity, but not the suspicion that he was expecting. Gino was surprised, she was a lot less hostile since he last spoke with her.

He grinned at her, "It wasn't that hard, he was just honest with me. He told me about what happened to his mother and sister, and how his father sent him to area ele-Japan," Gino quickly corrected himself, just managing to avoid a glare from Kallen, "And after that, he just told me what his intentions were with Britannia. Knowing all that, I couldn't think of anyone better suited to be emperor."

Kallen looked down, "So, do you know…" she cut herself off, but Gino understood.

"That he was Zero, yeah. I admit it shook me a bit, but after thinking about it, it made sense," Gino laughed, "If anything it only makes him cooler. I get why you weren't interested in me before, with him around," He winked at Kallen, "I mean, now I'm jealous of _you_."

Kallen blinked, before her face went red, "What-what are you saying?!" Gino burst out laughing, and feeling a bit mischievous, he slowed his pace to walk side-by-side with Jeremiah, leaving Kallen gaping and confused.

Lelouch set up the communications link with the black knights, running through possible scenarios of how this could go in his mind. Of everything that was in Lelouch's solution, this was likely the most difficult to predict the outcome.

In the past, Lelouch had believed that he knew the Black Knights enough to predict their reactions, but know…

"Greetings, treacherous emperor Lelouch," Lelouch heard Kaguya answer his call.

Lelouch put on a grim smile, "And hello to you, Lady Kaguya, it has been a while." Lelouch replied, stepping back to get a good view of the screen. Kaguya was standing in front, with the remaining Black Knights behind her including Ohgi, Todoh, Chiba, Tamaki, Rakshata, Xingke and surprisingly, Villetta. Lelouch did not miss the way that Ohgi was looking at Kallen with suspicion.

"And greetings to Xingke and Rakshata as well, I would extend my greeting to the rest of your company, but our last encounter wasn't nearly as pleasant," Lelouch said narrowing his eyes. Chiba and Tamaki cried in outrage, and Todoh hushed them.

It was Ohgi who replied, "Yet you're still making an attempt to join Britannia with the UFN, forgive us if we a more that a bit suspicious."

Lelouch, with great effort, managed to reply calmly, "That is precisely why I am making this call."

"So you can back out and paint us out to be the ones who are unwilling to make peace?" Chiba accused.

Lelouch gritted his teeth, and Kallen glared daggers at Chiba, "No, I simply wanted to clear out the bad blood between us before the formal meeting!" Lelouch explained, "There is a lot you don't know."

"See guys, I knew it! My bud just wants to make friends," Tamaki said confidently, and Lelouch had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, and instead smiled weakly.

"And yet you used your geass on Kallen for your sick interests!" Ohgi accused stubbornly.

"Lelouch didn't geass me to be here, I joined him from my own free will!" Kallen defended.

"How can you know that Kallen?" Ohgi questioned, and Lelouch sighed. This was not going as well as he'd hoped, on his side alone, tensions were rising high, Kallen looked like she wanted to punch Ohgi, and Jeremiah barely seemed to be containing his own rage. Gino was the only one who was completely calm. Lelouch needed to think fast, there must be something he could say that would calm everyone down-

"Hey, um, guys, Lelouch told me what happened before, and there is something that has been bothering me," Gino spoke up, and Lelouch stopped breathing, _oh please no don't start something_.

"So, if you guys think that Lelouch used his mind-control powers to make you follow him, how could you turn him over to Schneizel? I mean, as clever as he is, you think he'd order you not to betray him at least."

The arguing stopped. Lelouch watched as Ohgi and Villetta started gaping, not having an explanation, Kaguya's eyes had widened when she realised the truth in Gino's argument, and Xingke narrowed his eyes as he considered it.

Lelouch sent a grateful look to Gino, who grinned proudly. It was an argument that Lelouch himself couldn't have made, the Black Knights would have regarded it too suspiciously, but Gino saying it made it look obvious.

Kaguya looked at the screen ashamedly, "I-I can't believe I didn't think of that…" She smiled, "Please continue then, you said that there was a lot we didn't know."

The rest of the Black Knights seemed shamed into silence, enabling Lelouch to finally speak without interruption, "Thank you Lady Kaguya. Now, where do I start? First of all, I doubt my brother explained to you properly the limitations of my geass."

"Limitations?" Todoh asked, confirming Lelouch's doubts.

"Firstly, I can only use my geass once per person. Kallen knows that I didn't geass her into following me because I had already admitted to using my geass before Tokyo." Lelouch explained, and Ohgi narrowed his eyes.

Kallen stepped in to explain further, "He was a student at Ashford and wanted to know why I was a terrorist, _that's all_ Ohgi, just drop it."

Ohgi seemed to settle after that. Lelouch continued, "While this wasn't the case at first, I can't turn it off, I have had to wear special contacts to stop accidental instances."

"Accidental instances?" Kaguya asked, voice troubled.

"After I have given someone an order – accidentally or not, there is nothing that can break the geass I have placed on them, not even I can. A countermeasure was only discovered a few months ago." Lelouch explained.

Xingke hummed, "I get the feeling that you did not mention these together by accident."

Lelouch looked down, and against his will tears began to pool in his eyes, "The SAZ was an accident."

Chiba cried in outrage, "You dare! How can an _accident_ like that happen?!"

Tears escaped Lelouch's eyes and he looked down ashamed, "I told you, my geass wasn't always permanently activated… My original plan was to make Euphemia shoot me, but she managed to convince me to join her, I was explaining to her my geass' power when, when…"

"You gave her an example and your geass became permanent." Todoh finished, voice solemn, it wasn't too difficult to figure out.

There were a few moments of silence, where everyone thought about what had just been revealed. So easily, almost all of their concerns and suspicions had been dropped, with a simple explanation.

"That still leaves one thing, however, the massacre that you ordered on that research facility, why? There were women and children," asked Todoh, although he was already pretty certain that this had a reasonable explanation.

"It was a geass research facility, those children had geass, just like Rolo did," Lelouch explained.

"Rolo?" Chiba asked.

"He was my adopted younger brother. He died saving me when you were hunting me down." Lelouch's voice was void of all emotion, and the Black Knights felt another ache of guilt, just how much had Lelouch lost that day, they had already known that he had lost his sister Nunnally, but another brother?

"I would like to give you my formal apology… master Zero, I should have known better to trust an enemy commander." Todoh was the first to break the silence. Lelouch's eye's widened, he only had hopes for them to forgive him for hiding secrets from them, but for someone to apologise? And Lelouch didn't miss that Todoh called him Zero.

"Sir?!" Chiba balked.

"There is no use refusing to admit one's mistakes for the sake of pride, it is dishonourable." Todoh scolded, and Chiba looked down.

Chiba was silent for a long pause before slumping her shoulders, "Then I would also like to apologise."

"Same here!" Tamaki shouted loudly.

All eyes turned to Ohgi and Villetta, who stubbornly refused to speak.

"Ohgi…" Todoh started, about to lecture him.

"Don't worry about it." Lelouch stopped him, surprising everyone, "When I made this call, I wasn't expecting apologies, my highest hopes were only forgiveness at best. But I appreciate them."

"Master Zero," Kaguya asked nervously, "does this mean that you are going to re-join the Black Knights as Zero after joining Britannia with the UFN?"

Lelouch shook his head, "No. As a public figure, there is no way that I could take up the mask of Zero without revealing my identity, which would only cause chaos."

Kaguya and a few of the others looked down disappointed.

"However," Lelouch continued, "it would be possible for me to offer strategic support, similar to Xingke."

Xingke smiled, "Then I look forward to working with you, Lelouch."


	7. Chapter 7

It was difficult to keep a smile off your face while seeing Elouise's look of pure joy as jumped up and down showing off her warehouse of Flydroids.

"Thank you so much, your highness, for getting those scientists to help me make more of them! There is no way I could make this many on my own!" She said spinning around to gesture to the hundreds of Flydroids in view.

Lelouch smiled, "Of course, this was a project I was quite interested in. Now, Elouise, how would you feel about me borrowing these to protect people?"

Elouise blinked, "Like using these in the military?" she asked.

"That's right." Elouise looked down for a moment to think, before nodding.

"I'd be honoured… but, um… Can I ask you something?" She looked up at him nervously. Looking over her, Lelouch noticed that from the way she was folding her arms across her chest that something was scaring her.

"Depends what it is." He answered, scanning her over again to try and figure out what was scaring her.

"Big brother Schneizel is a traitor, right?" She asked, looking down suddenly.

Lelouch nodded, reminded that Schneizel was still out there, planning his next move, and if Lelouch's sources were correct, a hoard of Fleijas, "That's right, and I'm afraid he might hurt a lot of people soon…"

Elouise started shaking, "Then, th-there's something I have to tell you." She sobbed and tears began to pool out of her eyes.

Lelouch sensed that things were about to get serious, and looked to Jeremiah and signalled for him to summon Gino here, grateful that Jeremiah was more capable of memorising secret codes then Suzaku was when they were children.

Jeremiah nodded and Lelouch knew the message had been sent, he turned his attention back to Elouise and knelt down to her level and put his hands on her shoulders, she looked up to see him looking gently into her eyes.

"What is it?" Elouise bit her lip. "You can tell me, Elouise, whatever it is, I swear you won't get into trouble."

Elouise took a deep breath before closing her eyes, "I overheard my uncle talking about big brother Schneizel, and he was saying some stuff I didn't understand, and-and…" She opened her eyes and looked at him, "What is a coup de tart?"

Lelouch started to see where this was going and started to make plans on how he was going to deal with Elouise's uncle, "A coup d'état is when someone overthrows the previous ruler." Lelouch checked his memory banks on how this was possible and frowned when he remembered that Elouise's uncle had been on a business trip in _Cambodia_ at the time. How could he have missed this?

"And that's a bad thing, right?" Elouise asked.

"It depends if the ruler is good or bad."

"But you're not bad!" Elouise shrieked, she hesitated once more before finally telling Lelouch the rest, "My uncle said something about preparing a coup de tart with big brother Schneizel… and I think he said something about using my Flydroids too…"

Gino arrived and Lelouch didn't waste any time, "Gino, I want you to look after Princess Elouise, I am also putting you in charge of organising the transport of these Flydroids out of Pendragon!"

Gino looked confused but nodded, gently taking Elouise away from Lelouch. Lelouch knew that Elouise would be able to explain the situation, so he turned his attention to Jeremiah.

"Jeremiah, apprehend Winston Stuart and his associates! Confiscate any technology they have on them," Lelouch didn't want them using their company's tech to get out of their cells, "and be cautious with your implants, they have been developing Gefjon Disturber technology!"

"Yes, your majesty!" Jeremiah bowed and left to do his bidding.

Lelouch sighed, what might have happened if Elouise hadn't said something? They probably wouldn't have succeeded in killing him, but it was very likely the Flydroids would have been destroyed, which was likely to be Schneizel's real play. Stuart must have told him about his niece's actions and Schneizel must have figured out his motives.

Meaning he no longer had the element of surprise there. He would have to find another way to put an ace up his sleeve.

One interrogation and one geass later, and Lelouch at least had the peace of mind that Stuart hadn't known enough to tell Schneizel more than what Lelouch had already predicted. Schneizel knew of their existence, however, Stuart hadn't been unable to give Schneizel anything that would compromise them on the battlefield.

Now that was finally dealt with, Lelouch moved on to the next person he planned on meeting with today. Anya had been in custody for the last twelve hours after she had been apprehended, and since then she had been silent, and it had been reported to him that she was mostly acting confused.

He had figured out why and had shared his theory with Jeremiah, Kallen and C2, only hesitant to tell Gino as it was likely to upset him. When Jeremiah had used his geass canceler on Bismark, Anya must have been caught in the radius and gotten all of her memories back.

Lelouch entered the room where Anya was being kept, Jeremiah followed him in as per usual. As by his instructions, it was a fairly comfortable room with a bed, beanbag, desk and even a joint bathroom. When they walked in, Anya was seated on the been back, and sleepily turned to face Lelouch, but then at Jeremiah.

"How did you… retrieve my memories?" That confirmed Lelouch's theory, and he nodded to Jeremiah, knowing he wouldn't say anything unless he gave him permission.

"While it was not my intention, I retrieved your memories when I activated my geass canceler, which reversed the memory meddling that the former emperor us had done with his own geass," Jeremiah explained heartily.

This may only have confused Anya more, "and what… is a geass?"

Lelouch chose to answer this one, "It is an inhuman ability that a few select people in the world have. There is not much that we know about it, however, we do know that emperor Charles had a geass that allowed him to alter people's memories." It was a mostly true explanation.

Anya nodded, the information still slowly sinking in.

"Until all this sinks in and we can know for certain that you aren't a threat anymore, I'm going to have to ask you to stay here, if you want anything, just ask the guards and if it's reasonable, they'll get it for you," Lelouch explained, heading to the door to leave.

"Can I please… have my phone back?" Anya asked.

Lelouch stopped to think, "We're going to have to block your calls and internet access, but beyond that, I don't see why not."

Anya nodded, "… Thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

Joining the UN had gone like a _breeze_. After all, Lelouch had already gained the trust (and loyalty) of the ones with the real power behind the UFN, so Britannia's acceptance was a given, it was all a matter of formality and accepting their terms and lowering his vote to twenty percent.

Lelouch didn't need a large vote, he had the charisma and cunning to convince the UFN to vote for whatever he wanted, and the Black Knights would obey him now anyway. The best manipulations always had an element of genuine intent to them after all. It was true that Lelouch had wanted their forgiveness, but less because he cared about their opinion and more so negotiations like these would run more smoothly.

But Todoh went above and beyond his expectations, by apologising, it showed that Todoh believed that he owed Lelouch something, the others were quick to follow, and that easily they were calling him Zero again; their leader. That wasn't expected.

Of course, he had turned down the role, but he had offered his assistance when they'd need it. This had been to dodge suspicion in more ways than one, the public could never lose their faith in Zero, and the Black Knights were not to suspect him of _trying_ to regain his old power. But when Schneizel and his Fleija's came and they couldn't think of a way to counter them, they would automatically come running to him for help.

Once Lelouch entered the bridge of his flagship, he was immediately congratulated by Kallen and Gino. He smiled and thanked them, but he was distracted by the frown on Jeremiah's face.

"Jeremiah, what is it?" He asked.

Jeremiah turned to face him, voice grave, "I just received a transmission, your majesty! It's pendragon… it's gone."

The transmission was displayed on screen, a video feed of a large crater, that Lelouch realised had once been the city. Lelouch felt himself unable to breath… He had done it again… More people lost… more people lost… the worst thing was he knew this was going to happen at some point, but he didn't save them.

He went over a checklist of people in his head, he had managed to bring Kallen with him because she was his consort now, and Jeremiah and Gino had come as his guards He had managed to smuggle C2 in the cargo bay too. He couldn't rationalise having Anya come with him in her condition. Elouise, who's creation might be the thing that saved them had also been left behind, along with the rest of his siblings…

"Your Highness, are you alright?!" He heard Jeremiah call, and Lelouch realised that he was shaking, he tried to stop, but he just couldn't. He had failed to save them and had lost _more_ people in his life.

"Lelouch!" Kallen called, grabbing his shoulders, finally snapping him out of it. Just in time too, apparently, as they started to receive a communications link.

Lelouch reapplied his mask and signalled for the call to be answered and put on screen.

Schneizel's neutral face appeared on screen, his image alone filling Lelouch with rage. "Hello, Lelouch."

"Schneizel!" Lelouch greeted, obvious contempt in his voice. "Are you mad, launching a Fleija on Pendragon, but just our family but civilians were there!"

Schneizel's face remained neutral, "Don't act like you care, Lelouch, you may have fooled the Black Knights and the UFN but you won't fool me, they were only puppets to you."

Lelouch snarled, " _That's not true_!" Lelouch forced himself to regain his composure, "It may be true that I hate the entitled nobility and the majority of our wretched family, but my hatred lies in the system itself, not the individuals. Our youngest sister Elouise for example, she had a noble family that supported her, but she was willing to give that all up to do the right thing when you and her uncle planned to commit treason."

"I don't know what you are talking about." What was Schneizel playing at? Lelouch knew without any doubt that Schneizel was involved, and Schneizel knew that. So why lie? There must be someone with him that he doesn't want to know.

"Besides, even if I did, could it really be called treason when I don't recognise you as emperor?" said Schneizel.

"And I suppose you think that you are better suited for the role?" Lelouch taunted.

"No, not me, there is someone else better suited to rule." The camera panned down to view Nunnally on the screen.

Lelouch's eyes widened. Was this real? Was he dreaming… there was no way… Hate brewed in his stomach, Schneizel had done this on purpose, hidden Nunnally away from him to use her against him at the right moment…

"Lelouch," Nunnally said, voice solemnly, "I declare that… I-I dec-declare that… Schneizel, I can't do this" Nunnally's voice began to shake as she turned her head in Schneizel's direction.

"I thought you said that you would give everyone a chance to evacuate Pendragon!" She cried.

Schneizel frowned as he answered neutrally, "If we had given them warning, the information would have gotten to Lelouch and given him an opportunity to counter-attack. You have to remember that they were living under geass-"

"So their lives mean nothing?" Nunnally questioned, voice filling with anger, "You lied to me! What else did you lie to me about?"

Schneizel sighed, before pulling out a gun and shooting Nunnally. Lelouch's eye's widened in horror as the impact pushed her off her chair and onto the ground.

"Schneizel!" He heard Cornelia call out in horror but Lelouch pained it no attention, his eyes fixated on Nunnally's dying form.

"B-big brother?" He heard snapping him out of his shocked daze.

"Nunnally!" He cried out helplessly.

"Lelouch you only have yourself to blame for this, by exposing my lies and making Nunnally lose trust in me, you only made her useless to my cause," Schneizel said, no emotion in his voice. "You cannot blame me for ridding myself of the dead weight."

"Lelouch…" Kallen grabbed his shoulder sounding concerned.

"Nunnally!" Lelouch could only cry out again. What could he do? There had to be something.

"L-Lelouch?" He could hear her little fragile voice cry out.

"Nunnally! I'm here!" He cried out again, tears escaping his eyes but he didn't care, Nunnally was dying and he couldn't do anything to save her.

"Lelouch… I'm sorry." And she stopped moving.

"NUNNALLY!" Lelouch cried.

"NUNNALLY!" He was desperate.

"Please, NUNNALLY!" The camera looked back to Schneizel's smirking face before the communication's link cut out.

"… Nunnally."

The others surrounded Lelouch and tried to get him to snap out of his trauma, and bring him back to then, but the voices only mixed together and filtered into the back ground. Lelouch was only aware of his own shaking form and the deep guilt in his heart.


	9. Chapter 9

It was needless to say that Lelouch needed a while to calm down. Kallen had her hands full with comforting Lelouch, which left Jeremiah next in line to take over command.

When the Black Knights called to ask about the news of what happened to Pendragon, Jeremiah chose to explain everything so that his lord's absence wasn't looked down upon.

He honestly had to hold back his own anger when the Black Knights all gained looks of pity when Jeremiah told them about Princess Nunnally's death. How dare they show pity now when they didn't the night of their betrayal!

But as his Highness said, their image was important if they were to finally put an end to the fighting.

The Black Knights, of course, offered to come to their defence, as was their duty, now that Britannia was one of their own. Jeremiah thanked them and told them that Lelouch would discuss their next course of action after he had recovered from the shock, and with that, the call ended.

Gino searched the room curiously. So far, out of all of Lelouch's circle, besides Lelouch himself that was, Jeremiah surprisingly trusted Gino the most. He was an honest, genuine person, what Suzaku _should_ have been for Lelouch, and unlike everyone else, he had no stains of deceit or betrayal.

Even C2, Lelouch's oldest ally wasn't free from that.

"Lord Jeremiah," Gino said suddenly, grabbing Jeremiah's attention, "Where is that girl from before… C2?"

Jeremiah struggled to keep himself from smirking at the reminder, "She snuck out on his Highness' flagship for a mission.

* * *

Ohgi sat down on his and Villetta's shared bed, head drooped in melancholy. What had they done? It was a question that had been on his mind a lot lately.

Princess Nunnally had died, and Lelouch was such a wreck that he missed an important meeting with the Black Knights. A familiar scenario that had happened once before.

He knew that he more than any other of the Black Knights was guilty of their betrayal of Lelouch. He had claimed to have evidence that Lelouch had used his Geass on them when he didn't. Turns out Lelouch never even used his geass at all.

Yet… Yet he still couldn't bring himself to apologise to Lelouch and admit that he lied to the others. Because it would make Villetta and himself look bad to the others. It would bring unwanted attention to his and Villetta's relationship, and if they knew how they met… He could lose his position in the Black Knights, he might even be kicked out altogether.

He heard his room's door open and close. "What are you doing looking so glum?" Villetta asked in an annoyed tone.

Ohgi didn't look up, "Don't you feel bad for what we did to Lelouch?" He asked.

"No. Don't tell me you are." Villetta snapped.

Ohgi was going to ask her why when he heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" He asked. There was no answer, so he assumed that he must have misheard.

"Villetta why don't-" He was cut off by the sound of knocking again, so he sighed and got up. When he opened his door, it revealed a girl with brown hair.

He stared at her, there was something familiar about her face, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The girl sighed, eyes bored. She stepped into the room and closed the door, snatching it from his hands.

"I admit, this part of Lelouch's plan was the most petty," That voice was familiar too.

"C2." Villetta identified the girl. C2 smiled at her, bringing out a knife and pointing it directly at Ohgi's throat.

"But even I must admit, things would be easier if you two were out of the way." Villetta shot her gun and landed a direct hit to C2's head, making her fall back against the door.

"Ohgi, are you al-" Villetta stopped speaking and Ohgi's eyes widened in disbelief as C2 got up and sliced Ohgi's neck.

Ohgi opened his mouth to speak, but choked on the blood pooling in his throat. His vision started to fade, and the last thing he saw was C2 doing the same to a horrified Villetta.

* * *

After a few hours of crying on Kallen's shoulder, Lelouch had run out of tears but was still a wreck. Kallen stroked his back gently.

"Lelouch," Her voice was gentle, "If you can't do this anymore, that's okay, but… you said that if Schneizel got into orbit there would be no stopping him and-"

That was right. Schneizel. Lelouch started to chuckle madly. That was right. Lelouch had no more tears to shed, Schneizel had done this, he had done this to hurt him, hurt him hard, and he did. Schneizel may have hoped that this would cripple him, but little did he know that he gave Lelouch a whole new purpose.

 ** _Revenge._**

Lelouch got up suddenly, startling Kallen, who had still been talking, she took a moment to look at his face, before smiling weakly at him. Lelouch took her hand and went out back to the bridge.

"Jeremiah, I want a communications link to the Black Knights immediately."

"Yes, your Majesty!" Jeremiah smiled when he saw Lelouch and went to work right away.

The link was answered almost instantly, Kaguya was standing up front, eye's concerned.

"Former Prince Schneizel has committed a most horrendous crime when he launched a Fleija on Pendragon! Not only did he commit treason, but mass fratricide. I humbly beg of you that you allow me to provide you with assistance in bringing him to justice!" He said with great power and conviction in his voice.

"Of course master Zero," Kaguya answered, "it would make perfect sense for you to lead us with this battle, as you would have the most experience in fighting you brother."

"Thank you," Lelouch nodded in gratitude, "I would also like to offer you technological assistance, before the attack, I had anti-Fleija countermeasures created, that due to an assassination attempt, I had transported outside of the city."

Kaguya's eyes widened, "You do!?" she paused and smiled, "As expected of the great Zero."

Lelouch moved on, "I also have C2 in Japan looking for the inventor of the Fleija, Miss Nina Einstein, in Japan for further development. Miss Nina won't be harmed, but I request that you all stay out of her way."

Kaguya smiled, "We can do even better than that, we will assist miss C2 in any way we can!"

Lelouch smiled, but inwardly he smirked, now they would suspect C2 for her second, secret, mission.

"Last of all, I would like for my Knights of the round, including Jeremiah to fight alongside with you in the future battle." Lelouch made his final request, though honestly at this point, it was just a formality.

Kaguya nodded, "Of course, any assistance would be appreciated."

* * *

Lelouch didn't allow himself stop working long enough to think about Nunnally. He went straight to organising the transportation of the Flydroids.

However, it seemed the universe was against him and wanted him to suffer.

He had found a video file next to the software that would allow him to control the Flydroids, and out of curiosity, he had clicked it.

The first thing he saw was Elouise's smiling face.

He knew he should have stopped the video right there, but he could manage to force himself to silence her.

"Hello, your highness!" Elouise's voice said hyper-enthusiastically. "After you left I managed to escape my tutors for the day and I decided to work on some upgrades, so I just sent this video to tell you that I updated the software, I would have told you this over comms but you just went into that UFN meeting."

Lelouch grimaced and checked the time stamp on this video, it was uploaded only ten minutes before the Fleija had hit pendragon.

"Anyway! The new update allows the Flydroids to detect and intercept Sakuradite signatures since I heard you mention something about the Fleijas to Lady Kallen before. I wanted to have it in the first version but didn't get to complete it until just now. Hope to see you again soon, I love you!"

Lelouch needed another moment.


	10. Chapter 10

It didn't take long for C2 with the Black Knight's help to find and capture Nina. The girl wasn't co-operating well, and Rivals had already been dismissed. When Lelouch saw the girl he felt a strong wave of rage wash over him at the sight of the Xenophobic girl.

It was _her_ fault that all of this happened. So she was going to make it better.

Nina, upon seeing Lelouch, cried for his help. She was trembling he realised, she must still be scared of the Japanese.

"Lelou- Your Highness! Please, help me?" She called, and through the corner of his eye, Lelouch could see Jeremiah frown. Lelouch decided that he would need to deal with Nina swiftly if he wished to avoid a scene. Jeremiah had just seen one of his charges die today, and Lelouch could tell that his knight was more protective than usual.

Lelouch ignored Nina's wailing and turned to the Black Knights that had assisted in her capture. "Thank you for your assistance, my knight and I will transfer her to the lab." Nina's cries stopped.

The foot soldiers bowed in respect and turned away as Jeremiah grabbed Nina's arm and pulled her back to Lelouch's flagship. C2 followed behind them, she had long taken off her wig to prevent the Black Knights from suspecting anything, as she walked onto the flagship he took her hair out of her ponytail.

Nina followed Lelouch silently for a while, giving him the occasional glance, it was obvious that she wanted to ask him a question, but was unsure if she would be punished for asking it.

"What is it, Nina?" Lelouch said, giving her permission.

"Your Highness, _you_ ordered my capture?" Nina asked. Lelouch glanced over at her.

"You took part in the creation of the weapon that destroyed Pendragon, I ordered your apprehension to ask that you create a counter-measure." He answered in a neutral tone.

"But I-" Nina began to protest and Lelouch stopped in his path, Jeremiah also stopping and holding Nina in position. Lelouch knew that he'd be capable of convincing Nina to help him without the use of geass, but he was all out of patience and with Jeremiah here there really was no point.

Lelouch turned to face Nina " **I order you work on a Fleija counter-measure to the best of your ability.** "

Nina stopped in her protests and nodded, "Yes, your Majesty."

"Good, now this will be your lab." Lelouch gestured to the room at the end of the hall. It wasn't properly equipped, after all, Lelouch hadn't exactly prepared for Schneizel to destroy all of Pendragon, but the Black Knights had donated some basic equipment.

Nina nodded and walked over into the room numbly.

Lelouch frowned at that thought. Because he was expecting that he'd be able to take Nina back to Pendragon, he hadn't brought any other scientists with him, which was going to be a problem. Nina was an expert of the theory of the science, but when it came to the actual physical creation, Nina's skills didn't match up.

Jeremiah's head turned suddenly and a moment later Lelouch heard the sound of heavy footsteps running. He turned around to see Gino running up to them, the brightest smile on his face.

"Your Highness! There's a communication's link open on the bridge! You'll like this," Gino shouted as he ran up to Lelouch.

* * *

Lelouch stared at the screen absolutely flabbergasted. This was unbelievable, there was no way that this seemed possible, but Jeremiah confirmed that Lelouch's eyes were not deceiving him.

Elouise was covered with bruises on her left side and was apologising to him on screen, "I'm really am sorry your Majesty, I know you told me not to leave Pendragon, but this lady told me that you knew her," Elouise gestured to Sayoko who was standing behind her.

Sayoko stepped forward to give a better explanation, "When I escaped from Prince Schneizel's imprisonment, I went to Pendragon to warn you of the Fleija, however instead I encountered Princess Elouise who told me that you were not in the city. Seeing that she was so young, I chose to flee the city with her while I could."

Lelouch nodded numbly, taking another glance at the bruises on Elouise's face, "Why is she hurt?" He asked.

Sayoko looked down glumly, "There was less time than I had thought, our ship was partially caught in the Fleija and we crashed. Our communications went down and we were unable to inform you of our survival, Elouise only managed to bring them back online half an hour ago."

Lelouch nodded and turned to Jeremiah, "Contact the Black Knights, have them send a rescue team to their coordinates immediately." Jeremiah bowed and moved to one of the monitors to make the call.

"I don't understand," Elouise sniffed, "this can't be real, it's too horrible. How could Schneizel do this?"

Lelouch opened his mouth, but couldn't find an answer. Although he knew the logic behind Schneizel's actions, he didn't have an explanation that he could tell a child, to Elouise. He looked down and closed his eyes, mouth trembling and fighting back tears.

"Elouise, you have no idea how grateful I am that you're alive."

"Your majesty?" Elouise asked in innocent confusion.

Lelouch looked back up, forcing a smile, "Hey, would you be willing to help us out? I have the creator of the Fleija working on solutions on stopping the Fliejas, she's only good at the theoretical side, so do you think you can build what she comes up with?"

Elouise blinked, before smiling brightly, "Of course!"

* * *

It was a difficult decision, and Lelouch even had a difficult time convincing _Jeremiah_ that it was a good idea, but he had decided to transfer everyone over to the Black Knight's Ikaruga. Truthfully, he had hoped that he would never have to step foot on that ship again after he was betrayed on it, but the had no choice. Their flagship wasn't battle ready, and neither did their 'lab' have the necessary equipment to make anything capable of helping them.

Xingke greeted Lelouch as he was making the transfer. Jeremiah as always was standing behind Lelouch on his right side, but what had drawn Xingke's attention was Elouise who was shyly hiding behind Lelouch on his left.

"I thought that-" Xingke started to speak before Lelouch quickly interrupted to stop him from finishing his sentence. He didn't want to have to see Elouise cry again.

"Sayoko managed to save Elouise just before."

Xingke nodded, before turning to greet the girl who was sneaking another peek at him, "Welcome to the Ikaruga, Princess Elouise, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Elouise flinched slightly at the direct attention but hesitantly stepped out from behind Lelouch and curtseyed, "Pleasure to meet you too, Lord Xingke."

Lelouch chuckled lightly, "Elouise, General Xingke is a general, not a lord."

Elouise gasped and squeaked an apology, Xingke's eyes had softened at the scene and turned back to Lelouch, "I'm assuming you want her in protective custody, do not worry, I will have her accompanying the empress and Lady Kaguya."

Lelouch shook his head, "No, she will be assisting Nina in the building of the Fleija Eliminator that she is working on," Lelouch stopped for a moment to look Xingke in the eye, "I would appreciate though if you had someone watch over her… I don't want to risk losing her again if the ship gets infiltrated."

Xingke nodded in understanding ad Lelouch felt a light tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Elouise shyly avoiding eye contact.

"Yes, Elouise?" He lightly prompted her to speak.

Elouise blushed, "Miss Nina said that her research won't go into the development stage at least until tomorrow."

Lelouch and Xingke shared a knowing look, "Then I will have you placed with the empress until you are needed," Xingke offered his hand to Elouise, who after looking to Lelouch for permission, took it. "I'll take you to her now." Xingke nodded his head in respect to Lelouch and turned to guide Elouise to his empress.

Elouise turned to wave goodbye to Lelouch before looking up at Xingke, "Um… how old is the empress?"

"You two are adorable," Kallen said suddenly, almost making Lelouch jump, he hadn't even known she was there. Kallen chuckled, before her eyes softened, "How are you holding up."

Lelouch looked straight ahead, "Schneizel's going to pay." He turned back to Kallen, "You ready to see them again?" He asked, referring to the Black Knights.

Kallen nodded, "As ready as I will ever be."


End file.
